Button protector

ABSTRACT

PROTECTOR FOR BREAKABLE BUTTONS ON CLOTHES, DURING CLEANING OF THE CLOTHES, IN THE FORM OF AN ENVELOPE MADE FROM A PLASTIC SHEET, IN WHICH THE INNER AND FRONT SIDES OF THE ENVELOPE ARE RIVETED, SEALED OR OTHERWISE SECURED TO EACH OTHER. THE ENVELOPE HAS A FLAP INTEGRAL WITH THE FRONT SIDE AND FOLDED ALONG THE INNER SIDE WALL OF THE ENVELOPE. A CONVERGING SLOT CONVERGING FROM THE FREE END OF THE INNER SIDE WALL OF THE ENVELOPE TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE INNER SIDE WALL EXTENDS ALONG THE THREAD OR OTHER MEANS SECURING THE BUTTON TO THE CLOTHING TO CONTAIN THE BUTTON IN THE POCKET OF THE ENVELOPE. A SIMILAR SLOT IS FORMED IN THE FLAP TO FIT OVER THE THREAD OR OTHER SECURING MEANS FOR THE BUTTON, WHEN THE FLAP IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION. THE FLAP MAY BE DETACHABLY SECURED TO THE INNER SIDE WALL BY A STRAP EXTENDING ALONG THE INNER SIDE WALL WITHIN WHICH THE FLAP FITS, A SNAP FASTENER OR BY VELCRO HOOK AND PILE FABRIC MATERIAL, TO ENABLE READY REMOVAL OF THE ENVELOPE FROM THE BUTTON, AND THE POSITIONING OF THE BUTTON WITHIN THE POCKET OF THE ENVELOPE WHILE ON THE CLOTHING.

June 15, 1971 H. s, sHuBART BUTTON PROTECTOR Filed Dec. f1, 1969 dan Alga.

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United States Patent O 3,584,349 BUTTON PROTECTOR Harry S. Shubart, 319 Kedzie, Evanston, Ill. 60202 Filed Dec. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 882,089 Int. Cl. A44b .7/14; D061? 83/00 U.S. Cl. 24-113 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Protector for breakable buttons on clothes, during cleaning of the clothes, in the form of an envelope made from a plastic sheet, in which the inner and front sides of the envelope are riveted, sealed or otherwise secured to each other. The envelope has a ap integral with the front side and folded along the inner side wall of the envelope. A converging slot converging from the free end of the inner side wall of the envelope toward the center of the inner side wall extends along the thread or other means securing the button to the clothing to contain the button in the pocket of the envelope. A similar slot is formed in the flap to lit over the thread or other securing means for the button, when the flap is in its closed position. The ap may be detachably secured to the inner side wall by a strap extending along the inner side wall within which the ap fits, a snap fastener or by Velcro hook and pile fabric material, to enable ready removal of the envelope from the button, and the positioning of the button within the pocket of the envelope while on the clothing.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION to which the buttons are attached, arranged with a view toward simplicity in construction and providingthe button the utmost protection during the operation of cleaning the garment.

- A further object `of the invention is to provide a more inexpensive and simpler button protector than has heretofore been in use for protecting buttons during dry cleaning, by containing the button in an envelope by the ap of the envelope. detachably locked thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form of button protector formed from a will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a plan view of a button protector constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, showing a button contained in the pocket of the envelope, with the flap of the envelope in an open position.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the button protector shown in FIG. 1 showing the flap in a closed position.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view looking substantially along line III-III of FIG. 2, showing the button on a piece of clothing in the pocket of the envelope and showing the ap locked to the inner wall of the. envelope.

FIG. 4 is a view somewhat similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modied form in which the invention may be embodied.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the button protector on a button showing the protector in position to protect a button, with the flap locked in a closed position.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of still another form in which the invention may be embodied, showing the flap in its open position and showing the button in dotted lines in position in the pocket for the button protector; and

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the button protector on a button, showing the ap folded over the inner wall of the envelope.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF INVENTION In FIG. 1 of the drawings, I have shown a button protector 10 in the form of an envelope made from a single sheet of plastic material. The envelope has a ap 11 formed as a continuation of a front Iwall 12 of the envelope and bent from the front wall to be folded along an inner wall 13 of the envelope to retain a button thereto.

The envelope may be made from a single plastic sheet, which may be made from polypropylene, in which the flap is bent from the front wall of the sheet and the inner wall is bent from the opposite side of the front wall of the sheet to extend along the flap and form the pocket 15. The sheet of plastic material may also be made from an aromatic nylon paper known by the trade name as Nomex paper, or from polypropylene paper known by the trade names of Tyvek and Tyvar. The material should have sufficient exibility to accommodate ready folding of the flap over the inner wall of the envelope, but should also have sufficient rigidity to form a positive protector for the button.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inner wall 13 of the envelope is folded over the front wall of the envelope, for a portion of the length thereof, and is secured thereto as by laterally spaced rivets 1'6, 16 adjacent the outer end portion or top of the inner wall 13 and by rivets 17, 17, which also rivet a strap 19 to extend along the outside of the bottom portion of the inner wall 13 and afford a means for locking the ap 11 to extend over said inner wall 13.

The inner wall 13 has a slot 20 extending therealong from the open end of the pocket 15, and converging toward the center of said inner wall as it extends therealong. Said slot is shown as being generally V-shaped in form for ease in placing the button in the pocket 15, but may be a slit or of various other forms.

The opposite sides of the flap 11 converge to accommodate the ap to be tucked under the strap 19. The ap 11 also has a converging slot 21 formed therein extending inwardly therefrom from the free end thereof toward the center of said ap and registering with the slot when the ap is closed. The two slots 20 and 21 will thus extend along opposite sides of thread 22 or other securing means securing a button 23 to a garment 24, and serve to lock the button 23 in the pocket 15, as the ap 11 is moved into its closed position along the strap 19.

The oppositely facing converging slots 20 and 21, extending about the thread or securing means for the button 23 to a garment 24, thus serve as a lock, locking the button within the pocket 15 during the operation of cleaning the garment, and fully protecting the button from breakage both by cleaning and handling prior to and after cleaning.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the button protector is formed from a single sheet of plastic material folded in the form of au envelope and made from the same material as the 'button protector 10. In this form of the invention, an inner wall 25 of the button protector is folded partially along a front wall thereof and heat-sealed thereto along the edges of said inner wall. The inner wall is provided with a converging slot 26 like the slot 20 in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l, 2 and 3. A flap 27 is provided with a converging slot 29 like the slot 21. A snap fastener 30 of a conventional form, which may be of a type known by the trade name of Dot Snapper is secured to the inner wall adjacent the lower inner corner thereof, while a mating part 31 of the snap fastener is secured to the flap 27 adjacent an outer upper corner thereof when the ap is in its extreme open position, to be snapped into locking engagement with the snap fastener as the button protector is placed over a button and the slots 26 and 29 extend about the thread or other means securing the button to a garment. While I have only shown one snap fastener herein, snap fastenersmay be provided at each side of the flap and inner wall, although it has been found that one fastener is usually suicient to securely lock the button protector to a button during and after cleaning.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, I have shown still another form of button protector constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and made from a single sheet of plastic material in which an inner wall 32 is folded over a front wall 33 of the button protector and a ap 35 is formed by folding the front wall of the button protector to extend along the inner wall 32. The inner wall 32 is secured to the front wall when folded thereover to form a pocket by means of rivets 36, positioned adjacent opposite sides thereof.

The means for fastening the flap to the inner wall is shown as comprising a nylon hook and pile fabric material in which a pile fabric 37 extends along the buttom portion of the inner wall 32 and is stapled or otherwise secured thereto, and pieces of nely woven nylon monoflaments formed into permanent thooks and designated generally by reference character 39, extend along the inside of the ap 35 when in its closed position, for registry with the pile fabric, and along opposite sides of a converging slot 40 in the ap 35. The slot 40 registers with a slot 41 formed in the inner wall 32 as the flap is folded over said inner wall and the hooked fabric is engaged with the looped pile fabric, to lock the flap to the inner wall and positively retain the button protector to a garment and button, to protect the button during cleaning of the garment. The loop pile fabric and the hook pile fabric may be made from materials known to the trade as Velcro," and similar to the material used in the button protector shown in an application Ser. No. 831,966, led by a Burton L. Rosenthal on `lune l0, 1969, so need not herein be shown or described further.

All three forms of button protectors shown herein operate on the same principles and are effective for protecting buttons on garments during cleaning, and differ principally in the manner of locking the flap to the inner wall of the evelope forming the button protecting pocket, and result in a button protector in the form of an envelope having a long life, which will withstand cleaning iiuids and have shock absorbing qualities suflicient to protect delicate breakable buttons from damage during machine cleaning of the garments to which the buttons are attached.

I claim as my invention:

1. A protector for breakable buttons protecting the buttons during cleaning of the clothes to which the buttons are attached comprising,

a plastic envelope of a size to encase a 'button of a large range of sizes and having an inner side w-all and front wall cooperating with said inner side wall to define a button protecting pocket,

said front wall having a flap extending therefrom and adapted to be folded over said inner side wall,

means retaining said flap to said inner side wall,

said inner side wall having a converging slot therein open to the end of said inner side wall and converging as it advances along said inner side wall,

said flap also having a converging slot therein,

the converging end portions of said slots registering with each other and extending about attachment means attaching the button to a garment.

2. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein the means retaining the ap to extend over the inner side wall comprises a strap extending along the bottom portion of said inner side wall and secured thereto at its ends, and receiving the iiap in the space beneath said inner side wall and the inside of said strap.

3. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein the means retaining the ap to extend over the inner side wall and lock the protector to the button comprises a snap fastener, one part of which is on said inner side wall and the other part of which is on said flap.

4. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein the means retaining the ap to said inner side wall comprises iirst and second fabric materials of pile and hooked fabric material on said inner side wall and said flap and positioned to register with each other and lock said flap to said inner side when the two fabric textile materials are pressed into locking engagement with each other.

5. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein said envelope is made from a single sheet of plastic material and said inner side wall is secured along its edges to extend along said front wall by spaced rivets.

I6. The button protector of claim S,

wherein a strap extends along the outer side of said inner side wall, and

wherein at least two of the rivets securing said inner side wall to said front wall secure said strap at its ends to said inner side wall to accommodate the tucking of the ap thereunder to hold the slot of the flap to close the slot in said inner side wall and retain a 'button in the pocket formed between the inside of said front wall and the inside of said inner side Wall.

7. The button protector of claim 6,

wherein the single sheet of plastic material is a sheet of polypropylene.

8. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein said inner side wall is secured to opposite sides of said front wall by heat sealing, and

wherein the means for locking said flap to close said converging slot in said inner side wall and retain a button to said pocket comprises a snap fastener.

9. The button protector of claim 1,

wherein said inner side wall is'secured to said front wall as by rivets along opposite edges thereof, to form a button protecting pocket, and the means securing said ilap to said inner side wall to bring the slot in said ap to close the slot in said inner side wall about a button securement means comprises interlocking pile and hook fabric material on said inner side wall and flap, locking the ap to said inner side wall upon pressing said ap into engagement with said inner side wall.

i0. The button protector of claim 8,

wherein the envelope is made from a single sheet of polypropylene with the inner side wall folded up over the front wall and the ap folded downwardly over the inner side wall to lock the button to the pocket formed by said envelope.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner G. MOORE, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

